Chemokines are relatively recently characterized and growing fast family of low molecular weight cytokines, which stimulate migration of cells in vitro and in vivo. Together with adhesion molecules chemokines are involved in the complex process of migration of leukocytes outside of blood vessels. They also direct their migration within inflamed peripheral tissues. Chemokines are divided into four subfamilies. The main criterion of this division is the localization of pairs of cysteines in the NH2 region. The major chemokine subfamilies are CXC (α) and CC (β) chemokines. In CC subfamily the first cysteines are adjacent, in CXC group they are separated by a single aminoacid. The exemptions are lymphotactins α and β which posses only one pair of cysteines (C or γ subfamily) and fractalkine, in which the first cysteines are separated by three aminoacids (CX3C or δ subfamily). Functionally chemokines can be divided into proinflammatory and lymphoid. Chemokines influence their target cells through the specific seven transmembrane domain receptors. They are the important mediators of migration of inflammatory cells to the central nervous system (CNS) during different pathological processes that’s why they became the target of interest in the studies on multiple sclerosis (MS). Analysis of MS brains showed significantly increased expression of chemokines CCL4 and CCL5 at mRNA level. In the cerebrospinal fluid of MS patients during relapse increased level of chemokines CCL5, CXCL9 and CXCL10 was detected. Within chronic active demyelinating plaques in MS brains expression of CCR2, CCR3 and CCR5 was observed in macrophages and microglia.

multiple sclerosis, chemokines, chemokine receptors, cell migration, autoimmune brain inflammation